Better Than You
by HopeCoppice
Summary: It's not working. B/V slash. Inspired by Heather Peace's song 'Better Than You'
1. Chapter 1

**This will have a second part to it, possibly more, I'm not sure yet. It's inspired by the song 'Better Than You' by Heather Peace (it's on YouTube, I recommend having a listen). Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognisable in this.  
**

Bertrand paused, listening to the sounds of the school around him, and wondered for the fifteenth time if he was doing the right thing. He closed his eyes for a moment, focusing, and listened to the sound of the Maths class Vlad was currently sitting in. He had about half an hour before school finished. Then one more training session before nightfall. He tucked a trailing sleeve into his case and snapped down the clasps to hold it shut, placing it behind a pillar to avoid awkward questions.

Training was the same as it ever was. Vlad paid attention, did the work, and then began to demand Bertrand's more personal services. It was all innocent enough; a kiss here, a slight nip at his collarbone there, a stranglehold that lasted just a little too long, their bodies pressed a little too close together. Bertrand chided him for that last one, making him show him that he could execute the move correctly three times before allowing Vlad to turn and claim his lips again. He shouldn't, he knew; it would just make everything more difficult, but as Vlad pinned him against the wall he could feel his resolve weakening. Surely just five more minutes in the Chosen One's arms... It couldn't hurt. Could it?

Vlad eventually left, other work to attend to, and Bertrand couldn't help himself from calling out to him.  
"Does this mean anything to you?" Vlad turned, surprised, and shrugged.  
"Yeah, of course." Then he was gone, and Bertrand felt his chest constrict painfully. Night had fallen, Vlad had left him again with nothing more than a lukewarm assurance that he would continue to do what he'd been doing, and it was time for Bertrand to go.

He should have known this couldn't end well. He should, at least, have had the sense to realise that it would end, and sooner rather than later. But somehow he'd convinced himself that his feelings for Vlad were enough to sustain a relationship. Where, he wondered, had it all gone wrong?

It had crept up on him, this uneasy knowledge that something wasn't working. He had thought he had everything he wanted; vampire relationships were rarely more than this, this shared desire to explore one another. Bertrand had found himself slamming the brakes on, refusing to let Vlad get carried away with his teenage hormones, and he'd convinced himself that it meant nothing. Eventually, though, he had to admit to himself – and, later, to Vlad – that what he felt, what he wanted from the younger vampire, went beyond physical need.

Vlad had shifted awkwardly, then kissed him again. The subject had been dropped, and Vlad had continued to treat Bertrand as if he was some disposable object, picking him up whenever he needed to feel desired and then tossing him aside, dismissing his advice, making him feel like he was nothing. Bertrand had borne it patiently for a few months, but tonight he was getting out. He couldn't do this anymore; it did neither of them any good to continue as they were.

He opened his case, pulling out a note to Vlad, which he left in the training room, and a letter of resignation to the Count, which after a moment's pause he slipped underneath the other note. Vlad could deliver it; it would help him to cover up the existence of Bertrand's personal farewell, too.

He took a last patrol around the school, checking that he was at least leaving the Chosen One in safety, before returning to the training room, picking up his case, and walking off into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part two. Could be the end, not sure. Let me know what you think - I hope you enjoy it. As usual, I own very little. Except Auldearn.**

He only returned for the bear because it was valuable, he told himself. It had nothing to do with the fact that he'd had Auldearn for years – since before they were commonplace, back when owning such a toy was like owning an iPad or a private jet – and certainly nothing to do with needing something to cuddle now he could no longer see Vlad. No, it was a valuable artefact that was too historically important to be lost in the castle and neglected. Worse, what if Wolfie got hold of him? That was the only reason he was sneaking back into the training room just days after he left it forever, he reminded himself – to preserve a piece of history.

He froze in the doorway of his old room, realising he wasn't alone there. Vlad, sitting in a pool of candlelight with a crumpled, worn piece of paper in one hand and an old, much-loved teddy bear in the other, was slower to become aware of his presence, but he didn't seem to have to look round to realise _who_ was standing in the doorway. He continued to stare at the note, afraid to look up and find he was imagining things, as he spoke.  
"Are you back to stay?" Bertrand swallowed hard; the picture before him was so tragic and so beautiful, and for a moment he almost believed Vlad had missed him before he remembered that Vlad was a master of manipulation.  
"No." At the sound of his voice, Vlad scrambled to his feet, turning to face him, still clutching Auldearn protectively to his chest. He had no right, Bertrand was dimly aware of thinking. That was _his_ bear. It had been since he'd swiped it – along with a crate of its brothers - from the docks in 1903, sensing an easy way to make the money he'd need to get around the world in his search for the Chosen One. "I just came to collect something I'd forgotten." Vlad clearly knew what he was referring to, because his grip on both bear and note tightened.

"Please, Bertrand, I can't do this without you."  
"Is that what you think I want to hear?"  
"No. No, I think you want to hear that I'll be okay, and maybe I should tell you that because even a slayer could see you'd be better off without me, but I won't. If I only get to be a selfish brat once in my entire reign, then this is it. I need you, Bertrand. Come back to me. Please."  
Bertrand sighed. "You didn't want me before. You never let me get close."

The Chosen One frowned down at the bear in his hand for a moment before holding it out to Bertrand.  
"I didn't know you had a teddy bear." Bertrand took him and quickly checked him over for damage to the stitching, a little thrown by the change of subject.  
"Does it matter?"  
"Yeah. Yeah, it does. Bertrand, please, look at me." Knowing that if he met the boy's eyes, the battle was lost, Bertrand resisted for all of ten seconds before the younger vampire got impatient. "Look at me." His voice rang with authority, the kind only the Chosen One could command, and Bertrand's gaze snapped up obediently.

"I didn't know... my father always told me vampires couldn't love, and I believed him. I mean, look at my mother. So when I realised how deep my feelings for you ran... well. I always knew _I_ was weird. But you're a proper vampire. I thought you couldn't love me, so I kept you at arm's length so I wouldn't get hurt."  
"Your father was wrong." Bertrand spoke quietly, but Vlad nodded.  
"I realise that now. The note was enough to show me that you weren't just _saying_ things to keep me on your side, or whatever. If you had been, you wouldn't have left. And then I found the bear, which I suppose you just keep around because he's old and valuable, but-"  
"Auldearn."  
"What?" Bertrand glanced down at the toy in his hands, wishing he hadn't spoken.  
"The bear. His name is Auldearn." Vlad stared at him, the faintest hint of a smirk appearing on his lips.

"Anyone would think you cared, Bertrand."  
"He's been my only constant companion for a century. Forgive me for giving him a name in a dull moment. Yes, I care enough to come back for him. But nowhere near as much as I care for you, which is why I have to leave. Even _proper vampires_ feel pain." Vlad's face fell as he remembered how they'd got onto the subject of Auldearn in the first place.  
"Bertrand. Please. Stay, I'll stop pushing you away. I'll treat you better, I'll... bring you flowers, anything, just don't leave me." Bertrand shook his head, turning to leave – it was an effort, but he'd managed to take two whole steps when his student's voice stopped him in his tracks again. "I love you, Bertrand. I always did."

He froze, trying not to believe him, not to get his hopes up – and then a pair of arms snaked around his waist from behind, squeezing gently. He was lost; he turned in Vlad's embrace, allowing the boy to draw him into a kiss, Auldearn still clutched tightly in one hand as the other ran itself through the Chosen One's hair. After what seemed like a long time – and a long, wordless conversation in which many assurances were exchanged – they finally broke apart. Vlad looked up at him hopefully.

"Will you stay?"  
"Always."


End file.
